I didn't mean to whet your appetite with all the beautiful vegetable and fruit pictures of Canada then abandon ship; home responsibilities and the arrival of special visitors post-Canada called for my attention and energy. So much fun over 3 weeks got the best of me and I needed some recuperation time.
Our trip to Canada was amazing - everything about it was heavenly (except our diverted flight going into Canada on the first day, but we survived that).
Loretta and Gord are two of the most gracious hosts you will ever meet; I'd ask them to adopt me permanently if it was possible. I wanted to stay forever! Couple this incredible human side of the experience with staying in a home that is 1) on a beautiful lake in gorgeous country, and 2) an art piece of its own, both in architecture and interior decorations. What could be better? Oh and did I mention the good food we had every day! Hmmmm, that was a special part of the experience too! And the hooked rugs adorning every nook and cranny of Loretta's house? It was heaven. Hooker's heaven for sure.
The Camp Iawah workshop was the frosting on the cake. We had 17 participants. Most of the ladies wanted to design their own rug hooking patterns. While my overview material was oriented to the steps you can take to make your rug antique in appearance, I have found that working with participants to design their own patterns flows its own direction. The students are guided by what is important to them to portray in their unique rug design. Some students went antiquey in style or replicating antique rugs, others went for a collage of motifs, based on memories, favorite pets, or designs that struck their fancy. Magdalena elements were often sprinkled in among other motifs.
Here is a collection of their work in progress:
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| Donna's roosters finished; an antique rug adaption. |
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| Elizabeth's memory rug in progress with Magdalena motifs added. |
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| Barb's memory rug in progress. |
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| Deb's rabbit in a 10 cut; part of a very large rug in progress. |
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| Deb's big rug in progress with a little Magdalena sprinkled in. |
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| Karen's rug in progress. |
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| Betty's rug in progress: the Dancing Rabbits antique rug adaption. |
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| Andrea's rug in progress: the Dancing Rabbits antique rug adaption. |
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| Susan's Kisby (Duck Troller) Magdalena rug in progress (designed for Susan by Briarwood Folk Art). |
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| Sandie's rug in progress: her two dogs, farms they lived on and other memories. |
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| Loretta's Peanut cat in progress. Peanut has a draggy tummy! |
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| Linda's rug in progress, started before class and designed by Linda. |
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| Barb working on adding template cutout shapes to her rug as she hooks parts of it. |
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| Ann's lake memories in progress with the Briarwood Folk Art Big Dog Hollow rug as an example. |
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| Carol's cat in flowers in progress. |
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| Tina's completed Magdalena Menagerie (Briarwood Folk Art) rug. |
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| Wendy's family memories rug. |
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| Louise's rabbit with scrolls in progress. |
Here are some pic's of the hooking going on during the day:
Oh to re-live this again. Would I? Oh yes, in a heartbeat! Thank you Canadian ladies for giving me a little bit of heaven here on earth. You were a very fun, talented and loving group. Many blessings to you.
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